Search engines enable users with a tool that can be used to locate relevant information such as documents, web sites, and other files using keyword inputs. A different search paradigm, sometimes referred to as a “people search,” “person finder,” or “people locator,” has emerged as a different type of search service. A people searching paradigm is focused on people; whereas general web search and enterprise search tools typically encompass a wide range of topics including people, products, news, events, etc. Personal name inputs, including misspelled and omitted names, tend to be the predominant queries submitted in a people search domain which may employ large authoritative name directories having names in the tens of thousands or millions. Spelling errors in personal names are of a different nature as compared to those in general text. Thus, to ensure a desirable user experience and promote return of search service users, correcting misspelled personal names plays a noteworthy role in reducing the time and effort required by users to find people they are searching for.
Some search systems rely on a correct entry of a person's exact name when a user searches over a broad search space and are typically not configured to yield any profile information of a person who is the subject of a search. As an example, one search solution constraint may require a user to explicitly navigate to a “People” bar or site to search for a person's profile resulting solely in a ranked collection of profiles that contain the exact name terms, with no additional information provided. A user needs to perform additional steps, including executing subsequent queries, to extract any additional information beyond any profile information. For example, a user would need to perform additional searching operation to query and fetch any documents authored by a top ranked profile. Such limited search capabilities provide overly constrained search results and lack promotion of user confidence in the search system or service.